Bah-bah-bah-bah-bah-BASKETBALL!

Mar 22, 2024

By Eli Stokols, Lauren Egan and Ben Johansen

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Did Vice President KAMALA HARRIS know when she picked 14-seed Oakland University over Kentucky in the first round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament that the school was in Michigan and not her hometown in California?

Yes, according to people familiar with Harris’ bracket selection process: She was aware of the geographic particulars — although she was also partial to the name.

Did she know, unlike pretty much anyone else, that an obscure ~~future insurance company executive~~ guard named JACK GOHLKE was going to hit 10 threes and carry his squad over JOHN CALIPARI’s Wildcats?

No.

The main reason Harris went with the upset pick, those people familiar with her process say, is because she has a staffer who detests Kentucky. MORGAN BURKE, the VP’s director of social platforms, was among the aides who offered advice on her bracket. Maybe she was just persuasive. Maybe the school’s name sealed it. Whatever it was, Harris locked in the pick just before she and President JOE BIDEN tweeted out their brackets Wednesday morning.

And the Golden Grizzlies appreciated the vote of confidence, reposting Harris’ bracket on X on Friday: “Thank you, Madam Vice President!” Harris also took time to call the Grambling State team earlier this week after the Louisiana HBCU defeated Montana State in the First Four.

Harris, who traveled to Puerto Rico for official events on Friday, didn’t have time to trash-talk everyone else on the White House campus who, like pretty much all of us, had Kentucky advancing.

But in the Biden White House, March Madness is a thing. More than 100 Biden administration officials have joined the annual “BOTUS” March Madness pool — as in, “Brackets of the United States” — that is being organized by KATIE REILLY, an aide to chief of staff JEFF ZIENTS, and senior adviser for public engagement WILL MCINTEE.

Reilly’s email to staff last week, which was shared with West Wing Playbook, included a friendly reminder per White House counsel, and a friendly dig at her boss: “There is no money involved in this friendly match up — bragging rights are the only thing at stake … you could even say you beat the COS who will probably just put Duke as #1 ��”

Not a single person in the pool, where six people were tied for first place after Thursday’s opening slate of games, picked Oakland to pull the upset.

Several individuals are pulling for their own schools. Associate research director PARKER CAMPBELL is rooting for TCU. Research associate NICHOLAS BATMAN is rooting equally for a UNC win and, by extension, a Duke first-round loss. Half the building is probably rooting for Yale, let’s be real. And then there’s deputy press secretary ANDREW BATES, whose alma mater, NC State (are there any readers left who are unaware of this?), played — and won — the late game Thursday night.

As for the president himself, his tweeting of his own bracket had a distinctly pro forma feel. And, indeed, people close to the process acknowledged he’s not filling it out himself, much less doing 30-minute chalkboard sessions with ANDY KATZ like former President BARACK OBAMA did.

But he’s hardly the only one who probably could not care less about the whole thing.

YEMISI EGBEWOLE, chief of staff in the communications department, said she was riding the Metro last Saturday and got confused by all the sports fans decked out in red. But she knew exactly the person to text: Bates, who happened to be among those at or headed to Capital One Arena to watch hoops.

“It was the tournament for the Atlantic-double-C conference or whatever,” she told us Friday. “Honestly, I don’t follow any of this.”

Bates, meanwhile, is planning to drive with his wife MEGAN APPER to Pittsburgh Saturday to catch NC State’s second-round game against Oakland, of all teams. He’s not getting cocky, even with only a 14-seed standing in the way of a trip to the Sweet 16 (but brace yourselves for the emotional quotes he’ll be giving if they win).

And, honestly, it’s probably in the bag: The vice president has already picked the Wolfpack.

MESSAGE US — Are you MORGAN BURKE? How are you feeling about the Michigan State matchup? We want to hear from you. And we’ll keep you anonymous! Email us at westwingtips@politico.com.

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POTUS PUZZLER

Which president gained local fame for his boxing skills?

(Answer at bottom.)

Photo of the Week

President Joe Biden greets people at a campaign event at El Portal restaurant Tuesday, March 19, 2024, in Phoenix.

President Joe Biden greets people at a campaign event at El Portal restaurant Tuesday, March 19, 2024, in Phoenix. | Jacquelyn Martin/AP

The Oval

A SAD UPDATE FROM ACROSS THE POND: Press secretary KARINE JEAN-PIERRE took to the briefing podium on Friday minutes after KATE MIDDLETON — Catherine, Princess of Wales —announced she had been diagnosed with cancer. “Our thoughts are with the Duchess of Cambridge and her family members and friends during this incredibly difficult time,” Jean-Pierre said, using Middleton’s former title, while also wishing her a full recovery.

Jean-Pierre said that it was important to respect Middleton’s privacy during this time and declined to say whether Biden had spoken with her.

ANOTHER HUSH HUSH BIDEN MEETING: President Biden took time away from his official schedule during his swing through Arizona this week to meet with Phoenix Mercury star BRITTNEY GRINER and her wife CHERELLE GRINER, a person familiar with the meeting confirmed to West Wing Playbook.

Biden worked to secure Griner’s release in late 2022 after she was arrested and detained for nearly 10 months by Russian authorities. The quiet, off-the-record meeting continues a pattern of the president visiting one-on-one with individuals during his travels. It follows a similar meeting in Milwaukee last week with Bucks owner WESLEY EDENS, coach DOC RIVERS and three players.

CHILLIN: Influential Democrats who have been vocal about their concerns for the Biden campaign are now feeling a bit more at ease, our ELENA SCHNEIDER and JONATHAN LEMIRE report. A combination of a more vigorous campaign schedule and the president’s State of the Union speech, has left top Democratic operatives feeling more comfortable with the state of the campaign, despite there not being a meaningful bump in poll numbers.

“The State of the Union rarely provides much of a bounce,” said DAVID AXELROD, a former senior adviser to Barack Obama, and one of the more vocal fretters in the party. “What was absolutely essential was that Biden show enough spark to quell the panic among his supporters, and he certainly did that.”

WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE WANTS YOU TO READ: This piece by MSNBC’s STEVE BENEN, who dissects the question of "are you better off today than you were four years ago." Benen argues that voters have collective amnesia about DONALD TRUMP’s White House. “Reality leaves little doubt that the country is better off than it was four years ago by practically every relevant metric,” he writes.

Campaign spokesperson DANIEL WESSEL shared the piece on X.

WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE DOESN’T WANT YOU TO READ: This piece by NYT’s EDWARD WONG and ERIC SCHMITT who report that a growing number of former American officials are calling on the Biden administration to use its leverage to shift Israel away from its military campaign. Wong and Schmitt argue that the U.S. leverage falls into three buckets: its weapons aid, its role as a diplomatic shield for Israel and potential sanctions. If Biden were to slow down or cut off some or most of its arms shipments, former officials say, Israeli leaders would get the message.

DIPLOMATIC VISIT: Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Friday announced that President Biden will welcome Prime Minister MOHAMMAD SHIA’A AL-SUDANI of Iraq to the White House on April 15. Jean-Pierre said the visit will be aimed at coordinating “common priorities” and reinforcing a strong relationship between the two nations.

IT HAS TO BE SAID: The shakshuka may still be tasty, but the Tatte by the White House has become untenable, plagued by lines that often stretch 20 or more people deep. This is a choice the management is making. If you’re selling pistachio cherry tarts for $7.50 a pop, you can pay a few more people to work the register. The situation is often talked about by administration staffers, some of whom have started going elsewhere — because what busy government official has 25 minutes to wait in line before even ordering?

CAMPAIGN HQ

WHO ISN’T GOING TO THIS FUNDRAISER? LIZZO and actor BEN PLATT are among the celebrities who are expected to attend Biden’s high-profile fundraiser next week at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall, NBC’s PETER ALEXANDER and ZOË RICHARDS report.

The event is hosted by MINDY KALING and will include a conversation with Biden and former Presidents Barack Obama and BILL CLINTON moderated by STEPHEN COLBERT. LEA MICHELE, QUEEN LATIFAH and CYNTHIA ERIVO are also expected to attend.

ON OFFENSE: The Biden campaign released a new digital ad on Friday, highlighting Donald Trump’s prior push to repeal Obamacare, NBC’s MEGAN LEBOWITZ reports. During the 30-second spot, the campaign features audio of Trump calling Obamacare a “disaster.” The ad, titled “Flatline,” includes text previewing what a second Trump term would mean for healthcare: “When he was president, Donald Trump tried to rip away our health care," the text reads. “If he succeeds ... 45 million Americans could lose their health insurance. And you could be one of them.”

SPEAKING OF OBAMACARE: There was nothing on the president’s public schedule Friday ahead of his afternoon departure to Wilmington. Turns out he was making videos. West Wing Playbook first spotted ROB FLAHERTY, Biden’s deputy campaign manager and social media svengali, in the West Wing and then, hours later, the president himself along with former Speaker NANCY PELOSI, carrying what looked to be a potted yellow orchid through the West Wing and narrating with a camera crew trailing behind. A short time later the White House offered an explanation from the campaign: that Biden, Pelosi and Obama (who we did not spot) were filming a digital campaign engagement marking the anniversary of the Affordable Care Act” set to be released on Saturday.

THE BUREAUCRATS

A NEW VOICE AT NEC: The National Economic Council announced that MIKE KONCZAL, formerly the director of macroeconomic analysis at the Roosevelt Institute, will be appointed as special assistant to the president. In a statement, Roosevelt Institute president and CEO FELICIA WONG said Konczal’s work fighting austerity had a big impact on Biden’s economic agenda.

— NAVTEJ DHILLON was also promoted on Friday to be deputy director of the NEC, Bloomberg’s JOSH WINGROVE reports. Dhillon most recently served as NEC chief of staff.

CYBER MOVE: President Biden tapped MICHAEL SULMEYER, the Army’s principal cyber adviser, to be the Defense Department’s cyber policy chief, C4ISRNET’s COLIN DEMAREST reports. The position, assistant secretary of defense for cyber policy, was established by the fiscal 2023 National Defense Authorization Act.

Agenda Setting

HOLDING OUT: Russia and China on Friday vetoed a U.S.-drafted UN Security Council resolution which calls for an “immediate and sustained” cease-fire in Gaza, our ERIC BAZAIL-EIMIL reports. The two nations, which were joined by Algeria, took issue with the resolution’s insistence on linking the cease-fire call to a hostage deal. The U.S. had previously vetoed resolutions calling for an immediate cease-fire.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD called the veto “cynical” and “hypocritical.”

CAN’T GET ENOUGH: The Biden administration on Friday pumped more cash into clean energy development, announcing up to $475 million in funding in five states, AP’s BRUCE SCHREINER and ISABELLA O’MALLEY report. The funding — which will go towards projects in battleground states such as Arizona, Pennsylvania and Nevada, as well as Kentucky and West Virginia — will be on current and former mine lands to help ensure mining communities continue to play a role in the energy economy.

What We're Reading

From ‘I Love You’ to ‘Asshole’: How Joe Gave Up on Bibi (Michael Hirsh for POLITICO)

No Labels, No Candidate: Rejections Pile Up as Time Runs Short (NYT’s Rebecca Davis O’Brien and Reid J. Epstein)

Obama Presidency Oral History (Columbia University)

POTUS PUZZLER ANSWER

THEODORE ROOSEVELT. According to a 1957 article in the Harvard Crimson, Roosevelt entered several boxing tournaments and although having moderate success, “his obvious courage and determination won him a small following.”

A CALL OUT! Do you think you have a harder trivia question? Send us your best one about the presidents, with a citation or sourcing, and we may feature it!

Edited by Sam Stein.

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